K9 Personal Protection: A Manual for Training Reliable Protection Dogs

K9 PERSONAL PROTECTION

Other titles in the K9 Professional Training series

K9 Behavior Basics, 2nd ed.

K9 Search and Rescue, 2nd ed.

K9 Schutzhund Training, 2nd ed.

K9 Scent Training (forthcoming 2015)

K9 Decoys and Aggression (forthcoming 2015)

K9 Explosive Training (forthcoming 2016)

Other K9 titles from Brush Education

Aggression Control

K9 Complete Care

K9 Explosive Detection

K9 Fraud!

K9 Officer’s Manual

K9 Professional Tracking

K9 Scent Detection

K9 Suspect Discrimination

K9 Working Breeds

Police Officer’s Guide to K9 Searches

K9 Personal Protection

A Manual for Training Reliable Protection Dogs

Second edition

Dr. Resi Gerritsen

Ruud Haak

K9 Professional Training series

Copyright © 2002, 2014 Resi Gerritsen and Ruud Haak

14 15 16 17 18 5 4 3 2 1

Excerpts from this publication may be reproduced under licence from Access Copyright, or with the express written permission of Brush Education Inc., or under licence from a collective management organization in your territory. All rights are otherwise reserved, and no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, digital copying, scanning, recording, or otherwise, except as specifically authorized.

Brush Education Inc.

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Editorial: Meaghan Craven

Cover design: John Luckhurst, Cover image: Shutterstock, Victoria Antonova

Interior design: Carol Dragich, Dragich design

Printed and manufactured in Canada

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Gerritsen, Resi, author

K9 personal protection : a manual for training reliable protection dogs / Dr. Resi Gerritsen, Ruud Haak. — Second edition.

(K9 professional training series)

Revision of: K9 personal protection : a manual for training reliable

protection dogs / Resi Gerritsen and Ruud Haak. — Calgary : Detselig

Enterprises, ©2002. Includes bibliographical references. Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-1-55059-588-8 (pbk.).—ISBN 978-1-55059-589-5 (pdf).—

ISBN 978-1-55059-590-1 (mobi).—ISBN 978-1-55059-591-8 (epub)

1. Watchdogs—Training. I. Haak, Ruud, author II. Title. III. Series: K9 professional training series

SF428.8.G465 2014     636.7’0886     C2014-906864-6

C2014-906865-4

Contents

Introduction

Raising and Training

1 Conditions for Success

2 Breeds for Protection Work

3 Training Methods

4 Our Relationship with Dogs

5 Basic Education and Exercises

6 Stopping Bad Behavior

Obedience

7 Training for Heelwork

8 Training the Sit

9 Training the Down

10 Training the Stay

11 Training the Stand and Touching

12 Training the Recall

13 Training the Send Away

14 Practical Obedience

Protection

15 The Dutch Police Dog Test

16 Decoy and Dog

17 Raising for Protection

18 Basic Exercises for Protection

19 Training for Protection

Epilogue: Pets and the Working Dog

Appendix: Dutch, German, and English Commands

Bibliography

About the Authors

Introduction

It’s impossible to imagine life today without professionally trained guard, sentry, and police dogs. Dog sports like Schutzhund and Ringsport also champion reliable protection work, and there are many privately owned companion dogs that work as protection dogs.

The successful training of a reliable protection dog doesn’t start, as is often thought, with bite work, but rather with a good education and obedience exercises. People who don’t agree and who don’t have a good relationship with their dog and have not valued obedience training, sometimes start training very young dogs to do bite work and thus spoil their dogs forever. The dangers that accompany bite work are so great that we emphatically advise against starting this type of training with dogs younger than 12 months. If a dog starts bite work at too young an age, he will invariably be a frightened dog or a totally aggressive dog that is impossible to control. Therefore, bite training should begin only when the dog is physically and mentally ready for it. As mentioned, the proper age for bite work is almost never younger than 12 months and often as old as 18 months.

While you wait to implement bite work into your training schedule, thoroughly teach your dog obedience exercises until he is a year old. During this period, you can also start training him to perform the preparatory protection exercises, as mentioned in Chapter 17, Raising for Protection.

Every dog that is safe in and suitable to our communities—definitely including reliable protection dogs—must have mastered certain basic skills. For instance, dogs must:

• not pull the leash;

• on command: sit, lie down, stand, stay, and come; and

• display normal behavior with humans and other animals.

To help you ensure your protection dog has these basic skills, we clearly describe how to train for them in the Obedience section of this book, before we write comprehensively about protection training. As in the real world, obedience comes before protection.

We have also presented the PH-1 test of the Royal Dutch Police Dog Association (KNPV) because it is intended to assess dogs trained not only for the police service and police tasks but also for their potential to be reliable protection dogs. In Chapter 16, Decoy and Dog, we discuss, among other things, the behavior of the decoy and that of the dog, as well as the important warm-up and cool-down exercises that don’t take much time but prevent injuries.

However, before you get into the details associated with training, start at the beginning of this book with Chapter 1, Conditions for Success, and Chapter 2, Breeds for Protection Work, in which you will find a discussion about the most likely breeds to train for protection work based on our comprehensive training experiences with those breeds.

—Dr. Resi Gerritsen and Ruud Haak

Disclaimer

While the contents of this book are based on substantial experience and expertise, working with dogs involves inherent risks, especially in dangerous settings and situations. Anyone using approaches described in this book does so entirely at their own risk, and both the author and publisher disclaim any liability for any injuries or other damage that may be sustained.

Raising and Training

1

Conditions for Success

There are sometimes misunderstandings about the suitability of dogs for protection training. Often people accept without question that every dog that is a so-called working dog or herding dog is able to complete the special training for protection work. This belief is, however, not true, and therefore we have to make careful choices when selecting dogs for this role. Nervous and frightened dogs, for instance, should not be considered. With a lot of perseverance, an experienced handler may achieve something with such a dog, but for the dog herself the training and work will mostly be a mental torment, and this will be expressed sooner or later in serious disorders.

Only mentally and physically healthy dogs can successfully undergo this heavy training. For example, some dog breeds tend to have several problems, such as hip and elbow dysplasia, which prevent the normal movements of the dog. As well, other hereditary, physical defects such as epilepsy and eye disorders also make affected dogs absolutely unsuitable for protection work.

Only mentally and physically healthy dogs can successfully undergo protection training.

Physical Qualities

A successful protection dog should:

• be absolutely healthy, and sound in life and limb;

• walk and move correctly and quickly;

• have a strong and muscled body;

• have an optimal sense of smell, sight, and hearing;

• have very good and powerful teeth;

• be in optimal condition and have stamina;

• have strong legs and feet with strong soles;

• be adapted to the weather and climate in which she has to work;

• have a coat suitable for her climate; and

• preferably have a shoulder height between 21 and 28 inches (55 and 70 cm).

Missing the mark …

Mental Characteristics

The most important mental characteristic that a protection dog should have is intelligence. We distinguish between three forms of intelligence: the instinctive, the practical, and the adaptive. By instinctive intelligence, we mean all hereditary skills and behavior, such as the hunting drive: every pup runs after a moving object. By practical intelligence, we mean the speed with which, and the degree to which, the dog conforms to the desires of the handler: roughly said, how quickly and how correctly the dog learns the different exercises. Adaptive intelligence can be divided into two abilities: learning proficiency, or how quickly the dog develops adequate behavior in a new situation; and problem-solving ability, or the dog’s ability to choose the correct behavior to solve a problem she encounters.

Strength of Character

Protection dogs must also have strong character. They must behave in a self-confident manner and be free of nervousness, fear, or jumpiness. Sudden and unexpected prickles, like gunfire, traffic noise, or waving flags, will not bring these dogs out of balance.

Temperament

A dog’s temperament is expressed in her psychological skills and her reactions to different prickles from the environment. The more lively a dog is and the more intensive her response to her surroundings, the more full of temperament she is. The slower and the less she reacts to her environment, the less temperament the dog has. In the strong presence of certain drives (for instance, the guard drive), we can see dogs full of temperament focusing intently when an appropriate, small prickle in the environment occurs (for instance, a person approaching from far away). For the protection dog, such a temperament is important because it contributes to her being happy, attentive, and always active.

It is important to recognize the difference between a dog full of temperament and a nervous dog. Some people want dogs that are immediately itching to react when something happens. They say such dogs have temperament, but this is not true; rather, these dogs are three-quarters nervous, as well as sharp (see page 9). If a dog is not full of temperament, she is not able to complete the training to become a protection dog.

To do protection work, dogs must be in good health and have a great deal of stamina.

Composure

A protection dog must stay absolutely calm and show self- confidence, even when placed in strange circumstances. She must quietly observe any situation without fear or anxiety. Regardless of the situation—among people, in a town, amongst traffic, or at an event—the dog has to stay calm. Only then is she able to act at the right moment in the right way.

Reliability

The protection dog’s behavior must be consistent and reliable, so her performance is without surprises. Suddenly lunging at playing children or at adults, or displaying aggression toward housemates or even to you, the handler, causes serious damage to the acceptability of dogs in our society.

Dogs that are too independent and resist are also disturbing, and they are not in favor for training as protection dogs. As well, dogs that are everybody’s friend are not always ideal either.

Instead, the dog that is a bit reserved and shows an appropriate, natural sharpness can be a good dog for our goal if she is absolutely reliable. She must know how to assess the situation and act only when she receives the commands of her handler.

A protection dog guards a jeweler’s shop.

Toughness

By toughness we mean the ability to suffer unpleasant prickles or events—such as pain, punishment, or defeat in a fight—without being put off for even a moment, and the ability to forget these issues just as quickly (showing low sensitivity). A dog that can calmly undergo such torments will be able to carry out your commands, even if she is hurt or in pain. Such a dog will not be deterred by an attack, for instance, by a decoy (the person who helps train dogs for protection work), nor be upset by a decoy’s yelling, shooting, or touches with the soft or rattan stick.

A soft dog is the tough dog’s opposite. The soft dog is strongly affected by unpleasant prickles, events, or frightening circumstances, and will avoid such situations or prickles in the future (showing high sensitivity). Softness must not, however, be confused with fear of pain. Some dogs are very sensitive to pain and will squeal at the littlest pinch, such as an injection. But they will not lose their confidence against the one who causes the pain. Fear of pain will not necessarily influence these dogs’ willingness to work, because during the work the dogs normally are so caught up in their duties that they don’t recognize the pain.

It is vital that the decoy correctly judge the direction and manner in which the dog is approaching him. Decoys must work safely with potential protection dogs so that they and the dogs are not injured.

Courage and Sharpness

Courageous dogs step into dangerous situations without any pressure from outside, and they stay there, even when the situation would otherwise encourage them to flee as a result of their instinct for self-preservation.

Sharpness is the inclination of dogs to react in a hostile way to unexpected prickles; with sharpness, self-preservation plays a big role. Dogs in which sharpness is developed too strongly, and that also show a lack of courage, tend to bite out of fear.

With regard to courage and sharpness, there are four types of dogs:

a) Courageous–Sharp

b) Courageous–Not Sharp

c) Not Courageous–Sharp

d) Not Courageous–Not Sharp

Courage and sharpness complement each other sometimes, but they can also be opposites.

The basic characteristic of sharpness is the hostile attitude of the dog toward the unknown, and it can be based as much on self-assurance and an inherent fighting spirit as on uncertainty, distrust, and fear. In the first case, sharpness is inherited; in the second case, it is a quality acquired through training and a need for self-defense. With sharpness, the dog’s drive for self-preservation figures prominently. The stronger this drive for self-preservation is developed in the animal, the greater her sharpness will be.

Because courage is understood to be the quality a dog has that allows her to stay in dangerous situations without pressure from outside, the drive for self-preservation does not come into play with courageous dogs.

We can describe the four types as follows:

a) Courageous–Sharp

The dog moves in a hostile manner in the direction of what she sees as a danger. She displays a high tail; barking or a combative, open mouth; and bristled back hairs. The dog expresses no fear and is ready for a fight.

b) Courageous–Not Sharp

The dog isn’t combative but is indifferent or curious, showing no sign of fear. She either approaches the unusual with interested tail wagging or ignores the stimulus entirely. The dog is fearless without hostility.

c) Not Courageous–Sharp

The dog expresses anxious willingness to defend herself, displaying bristled back hairs, usually with a hanging but sometimes with a high tail, and growling, showing the teeth, or barking. The dog withdraws from the area of danger and expresses anxiety and hostility.

d) Not Courageous–Not Sharp

The dog is anxious and ready to flee but lacks a hostile attitude. The dog withdraws with her tail pulled between her legs, sometimes with a crouched body or a crooked back, and in extreme cases screaming in fear or urinating. This dog is anxious without hostility.

Suitability

It can happen that both characteristics, courage and sharpness, are mistakenly thought to be present in a dog, but instead breeding has combined the wrong characteristics and the results in training disappoint. It can also happen that a handler (whether aware of it or not) will try to make not courageous–sharp dogs sharper. An artificial increase of sharpness is always unsuccessful, however, because the dog will never be able to distinguish between apparent and real danger.

In our experience, training a protection dog whose type is described under either c) or d) will always result in disappointment. In the interests of the dog and you, the handler, it is always best to exclude such dogs from protection dog training.

A reliable protection dog must have a great basic confidence in humans and in herself. The ideal dog for this work is one that is balanced, reliable, self-confident, tough, and courageous, and that has an adapted, natural sharpness. Dogs that are not well balanced, not self-confident, not courageous, or too sharp will normally fail in this training.

Other Characteristics

Other characteristics we demand of ideal protection dogs include devotion to the handler and family and a willingness to work, because a dog you have to wake up for work is not the right one for this job. A dog that likes to work makes a lot of noise and shows interest when she sees that you’re getting ready to go. What is also, maybe even more, important is that the dog has to show both before and during work an almost tireless willingness to work. To be able to do this, she must be in good health and have a great deal of stamina. In short, a dog in which you can see a definite willingness to work and that needs no encouragement to continue and concentrate on her work is a good one for protection work.

Other important characteristics include attentiveness and protection drive, or the inclination of the dog to protect her pack mates, in this case, humans, against attacks.

Male or Female?

Both genders have their particular advantages and disadvantages. Males as well as females can be friendly, devoted, and attractive. It has been observed that males perform more energetically than females, but they are also sometimes more obstinate. Normally, a male is bigger and more powerful, often more extroverted and strongly interested in other dogs, especially females in heat.

Females are often a bit more focused on their handlers, and they can also defend their handlers and families with a great fierceness. They are sometimes a bit snappish, but they are often more homey than males, although not always when they are in heat. The female’s reproductive cycle starts when she is between nine and 12 months and brings her into heat twice per year, during which time blood secretions from her swollen vulva can stain your carpet. (Males can also be messy, secreting fluid from the penis if they have a common disorder called balanoposthitis, an inflammation of the penis and prepuce.) When in heat, a female dog becomes